Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 405 "My Dream is to Retire as a Salted Fish: Daigo's Top-Secret Shy Video, Interested?"

Daigo practically stormed out the door.

As he stepped out of the store, he heard the shop assistant and her colleagues whispering behind him.

"That kid looks quite respectable, how come he doesn't have a single penny in his pocket?"

"I heard they just moved here today; maybe they're having some financial difficulties."

"How pitiful—he was quite handsome, how could he—"

Daigo quickened his pace, jogging away from the area of ​​the friendly store.

He stood by the roadside, clutching the bottle of free medicine in his hand, and didn't recover for a long time.

shame.

The champion of Hoenn and the young master of Devon Corporation has actually been reduced to having his wound medicine given to him by others.

He had never been so humiliated in his life.

"Pfft"

Bai Zhou's voice rang in my ears, clearly trying to suppress a laugh.

"Daigo, you're blushing."

"no."

Daigo remained expressionless.

"You misread it—cough, you didn't record that part, did you?"

"Thanks for reminding me, I'll save the replay now."

Daigo paused for a second, then sighed.

"Delete it."

"I won't delete it unless you have a Vivo 50."

"This is worthless."

"Who said that?"

Bai Zhou's voice carried an undisguised smile.

He then opened his phone, found Mikoli's contact information, edited the message, and sent it.

"My dream is to retire as a salted fish: I have a batch of good stuff here—"

"My dream is to retire as a salted fish: Daigo's top-secret, shy video, interested?"

The other party replied almost instantly.

"Elegance never goes out of style:?"

"Elegance never goes out of style: Doctor, you must be joking—"

"Elegance never goes out of style: Ahem, I heard you raised an ugly fish, Doctor. I don't know how I can help, but here you go."

"Elegance Never Goes Out of Style: A Guide to Breeding Milotic (with Coordination Training).PDF"

"My dream is to retire as a salted fish: OK"

"Dreaming of retiring as a salted fish: A live replay clip from Pokémon Delta Emerald.mp4"

Hoenn Champions Office.

Mikoli stretched gracefully and opened the video Bai Zhou had sent him with great anticipation.

The screen lights up.

A boy of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a slightly immature trainer's outfit, walked into the Pokémon Friendly Shop in Rosemary Town.

Rosemary Town? It's a small town in the Hoenn region.

Mikuri frowned slightly, wondering why he didn't see Daigo, but the more he looked at the boy, the more familiar he felt.

That face, that posture, that innate elegance—it was simply like—

etc! Dawu! ?

He abruptly drew his attention back to the video's title.

Pokémon Delta Emerald! ? Gameplay replay! ?

The Pokémon series set in the Hoenn region has been produced!?

Michael jumped up from his seat with such force that the chair almost tipped over.

God knows how crazy those top league leaders in Hoenn were about Pokémon!

They were practically urging him, the champion, to come up with a solution every day. Every time they met, the first thing they asked was, "What about the game?" "What's the progress?" "What did Dr. Shiraishu say?"

I never expected to get it so easily!

Mikoli lifted a strand of hair with one hand, twirled gracefully, and expressed her inner joy.

As expected of my best friend Daigo!

There's nothing you can't get done if you ask him to!

The video continued, eventually ending with Daigo shyly running out the door.

Mikoli then came to his senses and noticed something strange.

"Hmm? So it really is a composite CG—it doesn't look like game footage. Could this boy be a young Daigo?"

He looked at the boy's face several times.

"But—the appearance doesn't match—Daigo didn't look like this when he was a child, did he?"

"That's really strange—"

Meanwhile, the virtual world.

Daigo made a decision.

I've decided not to speak to a certain person for the foreseeable future.

He didn't say a word.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the center of the town.

The road sign on the side of the road indicates the direction of Road 103.

Gumei Town is not large. After crossing the small square in the town center, you can see the road leading north.

In the center of the square stands an old-fashioned directional sign with arrows indicating the names of towns and roads in each direction.

"↑Route 103"

"←Orange Blossom City"

Daigo glanced at it, then turned and walked towards Route 103.

After passing through a grove of trees, the road ends at a wide meadow.

There was a small pond in the middle of the meadow, and a girl was squatting by the pond.

It was Xiaoyao.

She held the picture book in her hand and muttered to herself.

"Strange—I clearly saw a black Pokémon that looked like a fox here just now—how did it disappear in the blink of an eye—"

"How strange————"

"Sigh, it wasn't recorded again."

She straightened up, turned her head, and saw Daigo.

"Ah! Xiaoyou! What brings you here? I heard from Dad that you've already gotten your Pokémon, right?"

"That's right! Let's have a match!"

Daigo was stunned.

"A battle?"

"yes!"

Xiaoyao nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Dad said the first thing to do after getting a Pokémon is to battle with your friends! That way you can get used to the Pokémon's moves and the rhythm of battle much faster!"

She had already taken a Poké Ball out of her pocket, held it in her palm, and was eager to try it out.

"I learned a lot from my dad, so I definitely won't lose to you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she threw the Poké Ball.

"Go, turkey!"

A fluffy red chick popped out of the Poké Ball, chirping crisply, its body sparking with tiny sparks.

Daigo looked at the spirited Torchic, then at the seven Poké Balls on his waist.

He hesitated for a moment.

Logically speaking, Mudkip is indeed the most suitable fish for this kind of teaching-style battle.

Type advantage allows May's Torchic to have a worthy opponent, and also allows Mudkip to accumulate valuable battle experience.

But Mudkip had already fallen countless times on his way here, and was now dozing off at his feet, blowing snot bubbles from its nose.

Waking it up seems inhumane.

So who should we use?

Daigo's gaze swept over the six deluxe balls.

Finally, his hand stopped on a ball.

"Come out."

A red light flashed.

The Metagross's massive body appeared on the grass, its metallic form reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight.

It hovered in mid-air, its X-shaped face expressionless, but its red eyes calmly gazed at the fluffy little chick in front of it.

The turkey's squawking sound was stuck in its throat.

It looked at the steel behemoth in front of it, which was many times larger than itself, and half of the small sparks all over its body went out with a "poof".

He then slowly turned around and stared blankly at Xiaoyao.

Those round eyes were filled with confusion and fear.

"Gurgle—"

Xiaoyao was also stunned.

She stared at Metagross with her mouth agape, then at Steven, then back at Metagross, then back at Steven.

"You—this—"

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly.

"Where's your Mudkip?"

Daigo paused for a moment.

"It's sleeping."

"Then you can't—"

Xiaoyao's voice trembled slightly.

"This is... a Metagross, isn't it?"

"Um."

"Why do you, a trainer who's just started out, have Metagross?!"

Daigo thought for a moment and answered seriously.

"My dad gave it to me."

Xiaoyao: "————"

She looked at the steel behemoth in front of her and silently retracted her turkey, which had been curled up in a ball.

"I concede defeat. You have won this match."

Xiaoyao turned around and disappeared at the end of the road without looking back.

"Huh? You've given up?"

Daigo stood there, stunned, not quite able to react.

He never expected to win this way; his opponent glanced at his Pokémon and gave up.

"This game—"

He couldn't help but sigh.

"The degree of freedom is a bit ridiculously high."

Shirazuki had only one comment on this.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the champion of Hoenn, actually bullies a little girl—"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense—"

Daigo quickly denied it. Although he was indeed a little suspicious just now, it was just suspicion.

Before he could finish speaking, the scene before him suddenly blurred.

The light is distorted, and the colors fade.

When his vision cleared again, he was already lying in the virtual reality pod.

The transparent hatch slowly opened, and sunlight slanted in through the window, somewhat dazzling.

"woke up?"

Bai Zhou's voice came from the side, tinged with laughter.

Daigo blinked, adjusted his eyes to the light, and slowly sat up.

The screen in the virtual pod displays the game save interface.

"Game saved"

"You can continue your adventure next time you log in."

He stared at the line of text for a long time, his mind still replaying the adventure he had just experienced.

Everything felt less like a game and more like another real world.

"How is it?"

Bai Zhou leaned against the window, holding a cup of tea in her hand, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Still want more?"

Daigo did not deny it.

"That world—it's so real."

"So real that you don't want to come back?"

Bai Zhou asked with a smile.

Daigo thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"It's not that I don't want to come back, it's just that—that feeling is so strange, it's like I'm really standing on the land of Hoenn, really fighting."

He paused.

"By the way, how long have I been inside?"

Bai Zhou glanced at the clock on the wall.

"About two hours."

"Only two hours?"

Daigo was somewhat surprised.

"I feel like I've been inside for almost half a day."

"The time flow rate in the virtual pod can be fine-tuned, but not by much."

Bai Zhou offered an explanation, then gestured towards the door with his chin.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Let's go out for dinner, Xiaozhi is getting impatient."

Lunch was prepared by Bai Zhou, a few simple home-style dishes, but the taste was impeccable.

The three sat around in the living room, eating and chatting.

Xiao Zhi's mouth was full of food, and he asked indistinctly.

"Master, shall we begin our trip this afternoon?"

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"Um."

Bai Zhou glanced at Xiao Zhi and picked up a piece of berry salad.

"I'm going to obtain authorization from some figures. As for you—you can take on the challenge of the Hoenn region's league tournament while you're at it."

"Very good!"

Xiao Zhi was so excited he almost spat out his food.

"I can't wait! The Pokémon of Hoenn! The Gyms of Hoenn! The League Conference of Hoenn!"

He raised his fist, his eyes shining.

"I'm determined to win the championship this time!"

"Pikachu, Pikachu!"

Pikachu also raised its little paws, full of fighting spirit.

Bai Zhou glanced at him and smiled.

"Okay, good luck."

Ash ate very quickly, finishing his bowl in just a few bites. Then, he grabbed Pikachu and rushed to the door, looking ready to leave at any moment.

Bai Zhou slowly finished the last bite, wiped his mouth, and stood up.

"Daigo, take these next couple of days to familiarize yourself with how to operate the virtual pod."

He looked at Daigo.

"I've already got Oliver to start promoting the new film. There will be a preview live stream around next week, and you'll have to do it with me."

"next week?"

Daigo nodded, but then hesitated.

"Regarding the character authorization—isn't it too rushed to get authorization for all the important characters within a week? Some people aren't so easy to persuade."

Bai Zhou waved his hand, his tone resolute.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll get the licenses for all the important roles that will be featured earlier within this week."

"The first one is Professor Birch. He happens to be in Littleroot Town right now, and Ash and I will go find him later."

Daigo thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

Given Bai Zhou's current status and connections in academia, no one should refuse.

After finishing their meal, Bai Zhou helped Xiao Zhi pack their belongings and prepared to leave.

Daigo stood at the door, watching them.

"Be careful on the road."

Don't worry.

Shirashu walked towards the door, and as he passed Daigo, he suddenly lowered his voice.

"By the way, I sent that video of you in the game to Mikoli."

Daigo's expression froze instantly.

"What!?"

"Mikeli said he was very interested and even gave me a Milotic breeding guide as a thank you gift."

Bai Zhou patted him on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"See, this is a win-win situation."

Daigo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Bai Zhou."

"Um?

'

"You wait."

Bai Zhou ran off laughing.

Daigo stood at the doorway, watching their figures grow smaller and smaller until they finally disappeared at the end of the road.

He took out his phone and found Mikoli's chat window.

"For inquiries about buying strange stones, please contact: Have you seen the video?"

Messages are replied to almost instantly.

"Elegance never goes out of style: I've seen it."

"Elegance never goes out of style: Daigo, you didn't look like that when you were a child."

"For strange stone purchase inquiries, please contact: ————That's a game character. Let's get down to business. Are there any photos of the son of the Orange Blossom Pavilion Master, Senri, and the daughter of Professor Odori in the League archives? Please help me find them."

"Elegance never goes out of style: Hmm? They're the new faces you've got your eye on? Wait a minute—"

At his desk, Michael opened his laptop and began searching for information.

Soon, two documents appeared on the screen.

He stared at the boy's photo and suddenly froze.

"Huh? Isn't that the boy from the game video?"

Michael frowned and muttered to himself.

"A game character—how is that possible?"

He zoomed in on the photo and compared it carefully.

His hairstyle, eyebrows, and even the faint smile at the corner of his mouth were exactly the same as the boy named "Ruby" in the video.

"What exactly are Daigo and Dr. Hakushu up to?"

The more he thought about it, the less he understood. He felt more and more that the video was clearly a live recording, and it didn't look like a game recording at all.

Could it be that these two are conspiring to scam me?

He shook his head, didn't think much of it, and sent the two documents to Daigo in a package.

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